


Notice Me Sensei!

by Darth_Darling



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Fluff, Get Together, M/M, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-03
Updated: 2015-07-03
Packaged: 2018-04-07 09:40:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4258527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darth_Darling/pseuds/Darth_Darling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robert Callaghan loves having Tadashi as his student. He is smart, imaginative, and holds great potential. However Tadashi has the tendency to say very provocative things about him in Japanese, a language that Callaghan actually speaks, so he understands every single flirty thing he student says. </p><p>This was the last thing he expected to come from his new student, however he can deal with. It was just a student crush, not a big deal right? </p><p>Right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Notice Me Sensei!

**Author's Note:**

> The Japanese is in Italics. Everything else is English.

Robert Callaghan, like many citizens of San Fransokyo, knew how to speak Japanese. However, he didn’t flaunt this ability like many of those citizens did. It was common to hear people switching between languages mid-conversation. Callaghan, however, chose to stick with using English.

 

He liked to keep his second language a secret. He found that people shared more information sometimes if they didn’t think you could understand them.

 

This also made his day-to-day teachings very amusing. His students would often crack jokes or complain to each other in Japanese, thinking that their professor couldn’t understand them. He’s gotten quite good at keeping a pokerface when overhearing some of the strange things his students would say. But now, there is one student that is proving to be quite a challenge.

 

“ _He’s strangely handsome for an older man, isn’t he_?” One girl in the front row mused.

 

“ _I know right? I could tap that_.” Another student said. A student he was all too familiar with.

 

His name was Tadashi Hamada, a gifted person, and his new robotics student. Some students take his principles class as an engineering elective, but Tadashi was in it for the long haul. Tadashi’s entrance project for the major was the most impressive he had seen in years. He was excited to finally have a new protégé to take under his wing, a student that was truly on his level. But now, he was unsure. He’s heard students say flirty things before, but coming from a student he actually cares about…

 

Well, that is difficult.

 

“ _Oh my God, seriously_?” His friend said,his face scrunching up in mild disgust He was a large, burly black man. He had a nice face and was well dressed. If Callaghan remembered correctly he was an engineering student working with laser tech. If Tadashi was looking for companionship, a good option was sitting next to him. Tadashi laughed at him.

 

“ _What? I’m allowed to like what I like_ ,” Tadashi defended. “ _I’ve crushed on him for like whatever, I’ve read his book like a million times. I thought I’d get over it, but being in this class is only enabling it_.”

 

“ _Dude, you’ve got a problem_.”

 

“ _Maybe. But I’ll be fine. I mean this isn’t some stupid movie_ ,” Tadashi responded. “ _I can crush as much as I want to, but nothing’s going to happen, and I’m not gonna tell him. I’ll just admire from afar_.”

 

Except he did know; Callaghan shook his head. It didn’t matter. Tadashi was just a student. He didn’t like him. What was he worried about? This was nothing he couldn’t deal with. Right?

 

* * *

 

Callaghan was totally fine. Totally.

 

The first semester came and went, and now the summer has arrived. Callaghan doesn’t teach, but he does stay and work in the labs, which stay open over the summer. And, of course, Tadashi came in frequently to work.

 

Callaghan was partially excited, he would finally get to see him work in action, but then he had to deal with things like-

 

“ _He has great hair and you know it_!” Tadashi said to another student.

 

“ _You don’t have to defend your weird little crush to me_ ,” the short girl teased back. “ _Oh wait, yes you do, seriously Tadashi_?”

 

“ _Leave him alone Gogo_ ,” The infamous Fred jumping in. “ _Crushes are like totally normal. Besides he pretty good looking for his age. That’s totally a kink for you isn’t it_?”

 

“ _What no_!” Tadashi denied. “ _Okay maybe a little_.”

 

“ _I think I know magazine for that kind of thing, I should totally hook you up_ ,” Fred smirked.

 

“ _Why would you know that_?” Gogo asked, raising an eyebrow. “ _Besides you shouldn’t enable him. He should get over it, this isn’t healthy_.”

 

“ _Tadashi just wants sempai to notice him_!”

 

“ _He’s more of a sensei than a sempai_ ,” Tadashi corrected as he blushed. “ _But yeah_.”

 

Callaghan quickly downed the rest of his tea and walked away. He didn’t need to hear any more of this.

 

Besides incidents like this, Callaghan did still enjoy the time he spent with Tadashi. Tadashi liked to spend the evenings in the labs after everyone else had left. So they had lots of personal one-on-one time, to work on projects and to discuss science. Obviously.

 

“So yeah, I’m stuck on the coding for a project, can you take a look?” Tadashi asked him.

 

“Of course,” Callaghan responded, stepping up to the computer. He quickly scanned the program, checking for any bugs or incorrect diction, finding none. “It looks fine to me. This is a A.I. right? You’ve got a pretty good start on it.”

 

“You think so? Thanks!” Tadashi smiled. “Yeah, I wanted to start practicing on more complicated programing. I know I want to make a robot with an A.I. helping to run it. I’m trying to get it to access an information bank though, but it can’t seem to reach the files. What should I do?”

 

“You forgot to add the command for that,” Callaghan told him. “Just give the program permission to draw from the files and it should be able to access them.”

 

“Thanks, this is why a second set of eyes is handy,” Tadashi responded. Callaghan nodded.

 

“Let me know when you think you’re finished and I’ll give it another look over,” Callaghan responded. “I’m gonna go take a look around and see who else is here.”

 

“Okay, thanks again, bye!” Tadashi waved as he swiveled in his chair back to the computer. Callaghan was almost out of the room until he heard the boy mumble, “ _Of course he has green eyes. Green eyes are always the prettiest_.”

 

Callaghan felt the heat rise to his face. He was going to have to break into the scotch tonight.

 

* * *

 

“Hey guys, I brought pastries from the Café!” Callaghan heard Tadashi say as he approached his friend group. His friends crowded around him.

 

“Ooh, what did Aunt Cass cook up this time?” Fred asked. Tadashi opened the box, and collective gasps followed.

 

“Macarons!” The tall girl squealed.

 

“I knew you would love them Honey,” Tadashi responded. “Aunt Cass wanted to try out some new recipes. Macarons are pretty popular right now with the Lolita groups so it seemed like a good idea. She wanted me to bring some for you guys to taste test.”

 

The tall girl, Honey apparently, saw him out of the corner of her eye. She quickly tapped Tadashi on the shoulder.

 

“ _Hey, you should ask Callaghan if he wants to taste test some_ ,” she suggested to him. Tadashi turned to her. Apparently, all of his friends support his crush. Super.

 

“ _Really?_ ” He asked. “ _You think so_?”

 

“ _Totally_!” She cheered. “ _Outside of your little crush he might like sweets or have had them before. He’d make a great taste tester_.” She made a good point, so Callaghan had to give her that. He’s actually had Macarons in France a very long time ago. Abigail was a bigger fan of them than he was. He should probably send her their way for a more pliable taste tester.

 

“Professor!” Tadashi called for him. Callaghan took a sip of his tea and walked over, trying to look casual.

 

“Yes Mr. Hamada?” Callaghan asked lightly. He looked into the box resting on the table. There were eight flavors, and six of each kind. They looked a teensy bit big, but were otherwise very cute.

 

“I brought some Macarons from my Aunt’s café if you wanted to try some,” Tadashi told him. “I’m not sure how much of a sweets person you are, but any feedback is good.”

 

“I’d love to,” Callaghan answered. Tadashi smiled and pulled out his phone.

 

“I’m just going to audio record this if that’s okay with you guys,” Tadashi said. “I’ll go through it and write down comments for Aunt Cass afterwards. I just don’t want to write while eating, so say whatever you want.” They all nodded in agreement.  “Okay, first off have any of you had Macarons before?” Fred, Honey, and Callaghan audibly sounded off. “Okay, great. First we’ll start with chocolate.”

 

The group then went through each flavor. The chocolate was on point, but the vanilla was a little dry. The coffee was an interesting flavor, and the pistachio could use a little work. Callaghan found that the fruit flavors tasted the best for him. The lemon was very good, and the strawberry and raspberries tasted true to form. His absolute favorite was the blackberry Macaron he had last. He needed more, pronto.

 

The crew eventually dissipated to either go home or get back to work, and all that was left was Callaghan and Tadashi.

 

“My daughter, Abigail, would probably make for a better taste tester than me. She loves these things,” Callaghan told Tadashi. He pulled out his own phone and opened up the note function.

 

“We don’t want to just sell them to people who’ve eaten them before,” Tadashi told him back. “All opinions matter in business.”

 

“Very true,” Callaghan nodded. He handed his phone to Tadashi. “Can you give me the address?”

 

“Sure,” Tadashi said as he took it. “It’s a pretty easy route from campus if you ever want to come by. We sell tea, coffee, doughnuts, cookies; things like that. There’s plenty tables if you ever want to drop by and chill. Also wi-fi!” Callaghan took his phone back and looked at the address. It was actually close to his dry cleaners, just one street farther.

 

“Good to know, maybe I’ll try to come by sometime,” Callaghan said politely.

 

He honestly didn’t know if he had it in him though. He should maintain a respectable distance from his students, _especially_ Tadashi. Maybe someday though, that Blackberry Macaron was really to die for.

 

* * *

 

The summer came and went, and the fall semester began. Tadashi once again proved himself to be one of the brightest and best as he applied for and earned a private lab space. Callaghan could feel his frustration growing.

 

He wants to be a good teacher, he really, really does, but Tadashi didn’t want to make that easy for him.

 

Between the-

 

“ _Of course I’d tap that, wouldn’t you_?”

 

and the-

 

“ _Hate to see him leave but I love to watch him go_.”

 

and then the-

 

“ _Why do you have to be my teacher? We could be-_ ugh!”

 

Callaghan was beginning to have a harder and harder time turning a blind eye.

 

Or would it be a deaf ear? Whatever.

 

However, Tadashi was still a good student.

 

“If I can get scanner just right, and perfect the coding, then the robot will be able to scan anyone to diagnose any health problem and apply treatment.” Tadashi said proudly, showing his notes to the professor.

 

“And you’re almost done with the scanner right?” Callaghan asked, glancing over the notes. “Is that it right there?”

 

“Yup!” Tadashi said. “I worked on it all summer, I didn’t think I’d be this close to finishing it this soon though.”

 

“You’ve worked hard on it though, its no wonder you’ve nearly finished,” Callaghan complimented. He pointed to a picture on the paper. “Is this supposed to be the finished design for the bot?”

 

“Yeah!” Tadashi chirped. “He’s supposed to soft and friendly. I wanted to use vinyl for that. But with the right core, he’ll be super strong too. I was thinking carbon fiber, so that he wouldn’t be too heavy.”

 

“You want him to be collapsible too?” Callaghan inquired, looking over the schematics.

 

“Yup, he doesn’t need to be active all the time, so being out of the way when not active will help keep household clutter down.” Tadashi explained.

 

“This will be quite the ambitious project,” Callaghan stated, handing the notes back to him. “I’m glad to see you’re starting so early.”

 

“Yeah, I just hope I can pull it off,” Tadashi said nervously, taking a few steps back. “But um, before you go, can I test out the scanner on you? I don’t have all the programming done, but it might be able to pick something up that I did program in.”

 

Callaghan looked at it hesitantly, but he eventually nodded, “Yeah, sure, let’s give it a shot.”

 

“Great!” Tadashi perked up. He walked over the table to gently pick it up, checking to make sure it was still plugged into the computer. “I’m going to activate the program, and then you just need to stand still.”

 

“Okay,” Callaghan said, putting his mug down, as Tadashi pulled away from the computer. “Ready to go?”

 

“Yeah,” Tadashi said lifting up the scanner. “And… scanning now!” Tadashi tilted the camera up and down Callaghan’s body, stopping when the program beeped. Tadashi put the scanner down and sat down in front of the computer. “Okay, I’ve got a hit. Apparently the scanner thinks you are at high risk of cardio-vascular disease? Is this true?”

 

Tadashi spun in his chair to look at Callaghan. The professor picked up his mug and drank from it nervously. He watched the student carefully, who was also watching him in both excited curiosity and worry.

 

“Yeah, that’s right,” Callaghan confirmed. “I’m fine though; I take medication and avoid stress. So, your scanner works, good to know.”

 

“Yeah it is, isn’t it?” Tadashi said softly. Then suddenly he jumped out of the chair, cheering and dancing to himself. “Yes!” Tadashi suddenly stopped, and averted his gaze. “Ah yes, thanks for letting me test it on you.”

 

“No problem,” Callaghan replied smoothly. “I’m just glad to see that it works.”

 

“Me too,” Tadashi smiled. Then his eyebrows furrowed. “Wait a second, if you have a heart condition why are you always drinking coffee?”

 

“I don’t,” Callaghan corrected. “I’m always drinking decaffeinated green tea.” Callaghan finished off the rest of the hot liquid in his mug to make his point.

 

“Oh, okay, oops,” Tadashi laughed nervously, his foot tapping on the floor. “Well, glad to see that’s working out for you.”

 

“Professor Callaghan!” Someone in the lab called out, interrupting the awkwardness.

 

“I’m going to check that out, bye!” Callaghan said before turning to leave.

 

“Bye!” Tadashi said. As he walked away he could hear him curse, “ _I’m just the worst! Lame!_ ”

 

Later, while in his office, Callaghan thought back to the lab incident. He had just realized that his student successfully made a device that could effectively recognize and diagnose medical problems.

 

Tadashi was amazing!

 

He could feel the swell of pride in his chest that came from any student creating good work. They were only two weeks into the semester, and Tadashi pulls something like that out on him?

 

Callaghan ran a hand through his hair. Tadashi was amazing he really was. Not only was he so smart and ingenious and creative with what he designs, but he is able to successfully bring his visions to life. And then past that, he is driven by his altruistic desire to help others and make the world a better place. Tadashi was warm, and kind. He breathed love for others, and shared it with everyone. His eyes were soft, his smile gentle, his voice-

 

Callaghan shook his head.

 

No, he was crossing a line. He couldn’t do that. He refused to do that.

 

But maybe he could dream.

 

No! No he couldn’t!

 

He didn’t need to anyways. What was there to dream about? Nothing. He wasn’t like that. He didn’t like his student, and he had no feelings outside of a professional work relationship. Everything was fine.

 

* * *

 

A few days after the scanner incident Callaghan found himself standing in front of The Lucky Cat Café. He was on his way to pick up his dry cleaning when he decided that maybe it wouldn’t hurt to drop by and check the place out.

 

He stepped inside and took a look around. It was a nice set up. There was more seating than the typical café, and the large round windows allowed for natural light to flood the building. The décor was a mixture of both American and Japanese motifs, and the walls were brightly painted. Toward back left wall was the counter and pastry display. The Aunt that ran this place had it stock full of doughnuts, cookies, bagels, pretzels, muffins, cupcakes, actual cakes, and, much to Callaghan’s delight, Macarons, including the Blackberry flavor.

 

“Hi, welcome to Lucky Cat Café,” A woman said to him. She had chestnut brown hair and large green eyes. She looked to be in her late thirties or early 40’s. Her nametag called her Cass. “First time here?” she asked sweetly.

 

“Yes, yes it is actually,” Callaghan replied. He looked up at the drink menu. “I’ll take a medium iced decaf raspberry tea and three of the Blackberry Macarons.”

 

“That’ll be $9.87,” Cass responded. “Name please, and would you like this for here or to go?”

 

“For here please,” Callaghan said as he pulled out his wallet. “And call me ‘Hot Rod’.” She smiled in recognition.

 

“I was more of a Thundercats girl myself,” she laughed. She wrote the ticket and pinned it up. She grabbed a small plate and placed three of the Macarons on it. She handed the plate to him gently. “Take a seat anywhere, your drink will be ready in a few minutes.”

 

Callaghan turned and took a seat to a table next to the window. The café wasn’t very busy right now, as there was only four other customers in the building. It made for a relaxing environment. He picked up one of this pastries and bit into it. Oh God, they were even better than last time! They were definitely worth their price. He finished it another bite. He could really use his drink now.

 

“Order up!” Tadashi said as he gently put a glass down on the table. Callaghan turned to look at him. His arms for once were bare as he wasn’t wearing his usual cardigan, and his head was missing the baseball cap he normally wore. To his surprise he was wearing glasses on his face. A beige frilly waist-apron with the café logo hung around his waist.

 

“Hi Professor!” Tadashi greeted lightly.

 

Callaghan didn’t want to admit it to himself, but he looked cute.

 

“Hamada, I didn’t know you worked here too,” Callaghan mused.

 

Tadashi shrugged.

 

“I live here, so it’s kinda hard to not help out in my free time.” Callaghan nodded and made a mental note not to press the issue. He raised a hand to tap his nametag. “Also, here I’m Tadashi, so you don’t need to be so formal, unless you want to be.”

 

“Well, if you say so,” Callaghan started. “Tadashi.”

 

This made the boy blush. He shouldn’t have done that. Tadashi pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and gave it to him.

 

“Here’s your receipt,” Tadashi said. “Who’s ‘Hot Rod’?” he asked with a tiny smirk.

 

“I like to use a pseudonym when placing orders so I always know when the order is mine,” Callaghan explained. “’Hot Rod’ is the name of a Transformer.”

 

“Ooh! Transformers!” Tadashi smiled upon recognition. “I remember watching one of the cartoons when I was younger. I don’t remember a Hot Rod though… There was a Hot Shot.” Callaghan rolled his eyes.

 

“That _was_ Hot Rod,” Callaghan corrected. “The name got changed when the show came state side.”

 

“Was that one your favorite?” Tadashi asked. “Something about the name Hot Rod doesn’t seem very you.”

 

“No, its not,” Callaghan agreed. “My favorite is actually Wheeljack. He was the inventor and gadget maker for the Autobots. A bit of a mad scientist really. Most of the stuff he made would just literally blow up in his face, but he never quit.”

 

“Why don’t you use that one then?” Tadashi inquired, looking very confused.

 

“Wheeljack was more of a secondary character,” Robert explained. “There’s maybe only a handful of Transformers that everyone recognizes by name. The first few times I tried using Wheeljack I just got empty stares. But when you choose someone who is more popular, like Hot Rod or Starscream, then people get what you’re playing at.”

 

“That sucks,” Tadashi said wistfully. “Its always the worst when your favorite isn’t popular. You know that My Little Pony show? Honey Lemon likes this one pony, but she’s never included in the merchandise. It drives her crazy. It ends up Rarity is a rarity I guess.”

 

“You get over it eventually,” Callaghan remarked. “And treasure what little you do find.” Callaghan picked up one of the Macarons and popped it in his mouth. “These are really good, tell your Aunt to never stop selling them.”

 

“I’ll pass the compliments along,” Tadashi smiled. The door rang and they turned to see a group of girls come in. “I gotta go, duty calls.” He quickly left the table and went back to the counter to take the orders.

 

Callaghan took the next few minutes to finish his drink and eat his last Macaron. Mouthgasm every time. He pulled his wallet out, left $5 bill on the table and made a hasty retreat. If he didn’t leave now, he’d be there all night, talking with Tadashi as much as he could. He couldn’t do that though. Beyond all the obvious reason, he still needed the dry cleaning.

 

* * *

 

Two weeks later he was approached by one of the many students that worked in the labs. This student was not one of his, but he had seen her frequently enough, and had heard her speaking to Tadashi enough that he knew who she was.

 

“Ah, hello, Gogo, was it?” Callaghan greeted. Gogo popped her bubble gum.

 

“That’s what they call me,” she responded. She lifted up a wrapped up box and handed it to him. “I’m supposed to give this to you.”

 

Callaghan looked at the box in confusion. After a moment’s hesitation he gently took it.

 

“Thank you?” Callaghan questioned. Gogo looked at him apathetically.

 

“Don’t worry, its not a rocket,” Gogo assured. “Although, that would probably be cool. No, it’s just a birthday present.” She paused. “Happy Birthday by the way.”

 

“Thank you,” Callaghan said, giving a small grin. “Who is it from?”

 

“I think we both know who,” Gogo smirked.

 

Callaghan sighed.

 

“So I’m going to leave now before you try to give it back. Bye!” Then she took off running down the hall.

 

“No running in this building!” He called out to her.

 

“Sorry!” she yelled back from the end of the hallway. Callaghan watched as she disappeared around the corner.

 

Callaghan walked into his office put the box down on his desk. It was carefully wrapped in a shiny paper with a floral print and a large green bow. The box wasn’t too big, so hopefully he didn’t have to worry about the contents too much. But, if there was something valuable in there he would definitely uncomfortable with keeping the gift.

 

Now that he thought about it, this is one of the rare gifts he gets outside of whatever his daughter gives him. And it is his birthday, so…

 

Callaghan hooked his fingers under the seams of the paper, and tore it off of the cardboard box. He pulled a knife out to cut the tape, moving carefully as to not damage whatever may be inside. With the tape cut he carefully opened the box and looked inside.

 

The first thing he pulled out was a box of green tea, made by a Japanese company. Most of the lettering was in the foreign language, but that wasn’t a problem for him. He’s had this brand before, it’s actually quite nice, but Callaghan usually didn’t bother to go out of his way to buy it.

 

The second thing he pulled out was more green tea, but this time it was in a canister. It was made by the same brand and was the same kind of tea as before, but instead of being packaged in teabags, the leaves were loose. Loose leaves always made for a better cup of tea in his opinion, but it wasn’t practical for on the go or in the office. It would be nice for his apartment though. Callaghan knew he was grinning.

 

Third, he pulled out a small box from the Lucky Cat Café. He opened it quickly; hoping what was inside was what he- Yes! Blackberry Macarons! Six of them too! He took one out and ate it in two bites. God he loved those things. They were most definitely his new addiction. He quickly ate another and set the box aside. He needed to savor them, a difficult task, but one that he could manage. They did need to be eaten quickly enough, otherwise they would go stale.  


 

Lastly he pulled a ceramic mug. The mug was a soft white with a stylized cherry blossom tree painted on it. It was quite lovely to say the least. Then, as a final surprise, Callaghan found a small stuffed animal inside of the mug. It was a tiny white-sheep?- wearing a pink apron and hat. The tags called it an ‘Alpacasso’, he wasn’t sure what that was but it was cute.

 

At the very bottom of the box there was a folded piece of paper. He put down the mug and plush and pulled the paper out, tossing the empty box side. He unfolded the paper and began to read.

 

Professor Callaghan,

 

            Happy Birthday! If I didn’t give this to you in person, then I probably paid someone else to. Sorry, I just didn’t want to freak you out. I found your birthday in the faculty directory, and I just thought it would be nice to get you a little something to pay you back for all the help you’ve given me over the past few months.

 

            I bought some tea from an import shop. I grabbed teabags and loose, just in case you liked both or didn’t know how to use loose leaves. I honestly don’t myself, but maybe you do. I hope you like it!

 

            I’m just going to stop here. I probably shouldn’t be writing this half awake, but well… Whatever.

 

Happy Birthday again!

 

Sincerely,

 

Tadashi

 

Callaghan carefully folded the piece of paper and put it down on his desk.  He slowly slumped in his chair, and covered his face with his hands.

 

Shit. He was in love with him wasn’t he?

 

“I’m screwed,” Callaghan said to himself. “I am completely screwed.”

 

Nonetheless, before he left the building that night he placed a small thank you note in Tadashi’s lab.

 

He was on a slippery slope, and he couldn’t tell which way he would fall now.

 

* * *

 

Everything after that seemed to get worse and worse. Maybe it was because Callaghan encouraged him by accepting the gift, or maybe Callaghan’s perception has changed. Either way, it all seemed to go downhill from there.

 

It wasn’t that the comments were too perverse, if anything Callaghan would rather have those back. But now, all he could hear was how much the student absolutely adored him. Real feelings have developed, and this frightened him.

 

“ _He liked it, he really liked it I think_ ,” Tadashi told his friends.

 

“ _Dude, you’re one ballsy person_ ,” Fred laughed. “ _That could’ve gone so bad so fast_.”

 

“ _I’m glad he liked it_ ,” Honey smiled, “ _but maybe you might want to be more careful. You don’t want him to think you’re trying to harass him_.”

 

“ _Oh no, you don’t think he does, does he_?” Tadashi fearfully said. “ _Oh no, I shouldn’t have done that! I’ve ruined everything and he’s going to hate me forever and I’m going to have to transfer schools_.”

 

“ _Tadashi, calm down_ ,” Gogo sternly told him. Tadashi looked at her with panicked eyes, and before Callaghan knew it his mouth was open.

 

“What are you guy’s talking about?” Callaghan asked, drinking from his new mug.

 

“Anime,” Fred said calmly. “Tadashi is freaking out because he thinks his favorite character is about to get killed off.”

 

“She’ll be fine,” Honey jumped in. “She’s one of the main characters, nothing bad ever happens to main characters.”

 

“Oh, well that is unfortunate,” Callaghan said, playing along. “Don’t worry about it Tadashi.” He took a sip of his tea. “Oh, and thanks again for the gift. The tea is nice.”

 

Tadashi’s face immediately brightened up.

 

“You’re welcome!” Tadashi smiled. Callaghan gave him a grin back and walked off, roaming the lab to look at other projects.

 

“ _See, it was fine_!” He could hear Honey say as he walked away.

 

* * *

 

Tadashi was singing a j-pop song and working on his robot’s skeleton when Callaghan walked in on him.

 

“How are things going in here?” Callaghan asked. Tadashi stopped singing and turned off the music.

 

“Hey professor!” Tadashi greeted with a smile, turning partially towards him. Callaghan felt his stomach tighten. “Things are fine, I’m just putting Baymax together.”

 

“Good to see,” Callaghan replied. “You’re really ahead of the curve.”

 

“Really?” Tadashi asked. “Thanks. I’m just doing things as I normally do them.”

 

Tadashi put down his tools and turned to look at him. Callaghan’s eye’s narrowed upon seeing the bruise on the side of his face.

 

“What happened to you?” Callaghan asked, stepping forward. Mindlessly, he reached out and gently brushed the dark splotches. When Tadashi leaned into the touch he pulled his hand back quickly. “Sorry.”

 

“Its fine,” Tadashi smiled, a little too brightly if you were to ask him. “My brother likes to go bot fighting, and once again he picked a fight with some unsavory people.”

 

“Abigail liked to bot fight when she was a teenager too,” Callaghan responded. “She never ran into problems though.”

 

“She never bet money and went up against gangs though, did she?” Tadashi asked back. Callaghan winced. Did he get in a fight with a Yakuza?

 

“No, she definitely never did anything of that nature,” he admitted. “She always went to after-school clubs for those kind of things. Maybe you should get Hiro to go to one of those places.”

 

“As if he’d want to,” Tadashi laughed. “He does it for the big money, and with his robots, it’s easy.” Callaghan felt his frown deepen. “Relax, its fine. I’ve got a black belt in karate. I can take care of myself.”

 

“I think I’m allowed to be a little worried,” Callaghan responded sternly. “A black belt can’t fight a speeding bullet.”

 

A horrific silence befell the room. Tadashi stared wide-eyed, his face flickering back and forth between anger and sadness. Callaghan just wondered if what he said was too bold. It was still true though. Fighting gangsters would eventually lead to somewhere tragic. Tadashi turned away and began to lightly rub his bruising.

 

“I know it’s dangerous, but who else is going to get him out of trouble?” Tadashi asked softly. “He won’t listen to me, and I know that all I’m doing is enabling him by busting him out of jams, but besides Aunt Cass, he’s all I have left. I can’t just leave him out there and hope he’ll learn on his own. I can’t take that risk.”

 

“Tadashi,” Callaghan argued hesitantly. “I understand that this is difficult for you,” he started, his words coming slowly. He had no idea what he was saying. “I know you care about your brother, but that doesn’t make it anymore okay for something to happen to you instead.”

 

“He’s more important than-“

 

“No, he’s not!” Callaghan shouted, cutting Tadashi off. “People care about you too, Tadashi.” He asserted. “Losing you would be just as tragic to your Aunt and everyone else as it would be to lose your brother.”

 

“Would you care professor?” Tadashi asked breathlessly.

 

“Of course,” Callaghan shot back just as fast. “I’m just asking that if you’re going to try and break your brother of this habit, try to take safer approaches. You shouldn’t be fighting mobs single handedly.”

 

Tadashi stared blankly at him. Callaghan blinked, and he perked back up again.

 

“What if I bugged him with GPS tracers?” Tadashi asked. “That way I can tell when he’s going to the wrong side of town.” Callaghan watched with mild amusement as Tadashi began to pace the room, spouting out ideas. “I can set up a perimeter, and get warnings only if he goes to places he shouldn’t be. He’ll have his privacy and I can figure out what to do before I go busting in!”

 

“That’s a start,” Callaghan responded. “For the short term at least. You’ll need to come up with a plan to shake him though, get him to stop.”

 

“I was actually planning on conning Hiro into coming here,” Tadashi replied. “But not for a while. The best time to try and make him apply would be near the Student Expo at the end of the next semester. He won’t have time to lose interest.” Callaghan nodded.

 

“Well that covers the long term,” he agreed. He slowly backed out of the room. “I need to go check on the other students. Good work, and please be more careful.”

 

“Will do professor!” Tadashi answered with a smile. Callaghan spun on his heels and began to walk away. “ _I’m so glad to have you watching out for me_.”

 

He quickly found another student to talk to and take his mind off of Tadashi. This was really starting to get out of hand.

 

* * *

 

Finally, towards the end of October, Callaghan finally had enough.

 

It was later in the evening and a Friday, so not many students were hanging around, but Tadashi and his nerd lab crew were, and they were apparently in the middle of a round of “never have I ever”.

 

The questions were fine at first, such as never have I ever left the country, or had dental surgery, or owned more than three pets. Then, of course, things started to get raunchy.

 

“ _Never have I ever had a crush on a professor_ ,” Fred teased.

 

“ _Oh come on_ ,” Tadashi groaned.

 

 _“Never I have I ever had a crush on someone over twenty years older than me_ ,” Honey smiled.

 

“ _Seriously_?”

 

“ _Never have I ever given a gift to a person I had a crush on_ ,” Wasabi added plainly.

 

“ _Never have I ever seriously thought about dating a professor_ ,” Gogo interjected before Tadashi could object.

 

“ _I’m going to leave_ ,” Tadashi said, beginning to get up.

 

“ _No wait, one last one_ ,” Fred laughed, grabbing his arm. “ _Okay. Never have I ever jerked off to a professor that was more then twenty years older that I had a crush on_!” The group collectively laughed while Tadashi fumed in embarrassment.

 

“You all are literally the worst and I’m leaving,” Tadashi said. “Call me when you all grow up and let me talk about something else.”

 

“ _We’re just playing_ ,” Wasabi said. “ _You need to lighten up. This isn’t healthy. Having a crush is one thing, but now…_ ”

 

“ _Now what_?” Tadashi asked. “ _What do you think_?”

 

“That’s enough,” Callaghan calmly interjected. “I don’t know what’s happening, but its time to break it up.” The five looked up at him. “Besides, its Friday night, its time to clear out anyways.”

 

“We were just playing a game professor,” Honey added timidly. “Sorry.”

 

The group mumbled out some apologies before leaving.

 

“Hold on Tadashi, I need to talk to you,” Callaghan added. Tadashi spun around with wide eyes.

 

“Yes sir,” Tadashi answered. The other four walked off, leaving Tadashi there.

 

“Let’s go to my office,” Callaghan said. “I’ll explain there.”

 

“Okay,” Tadashi said sheepishly.

 

The two walked to the office, Callaghan closed the door. He walked behind his desk and sat in his chair.

 

“Please have a seat,” Callaghan request. Tadashi nodded and slowly sat down.

 

“Did I do something wrong?” Tadashi asked. Professor Callaghan nodded.

 

“This is going to be a painful and awkward conversation, but I’m just going to cut to the chase.” Callaghan said. “ _I speak Japanese, and I speak it very well_. “ Tadashi paled.

 

“ _You do_ ,” Tadashi asked with a shaking voice. “Oh no. Oh no no no…”

 

“I’ve heard and understood everything you’ve said about me for the past months,” Callaghan told him.

 

“I’m so, so sorry! I’ve never meant to make you feel uncomfortable,” Tadashi apologized. “I would have never said those things if I knew you could hear me.”

 

“It’s alright Tadashi, I should’ve said something sooner, but I couldn’t take it anymore.” Callaghan started. “You are my student, I am your professor. You must know now though that this behavior is inappropriate and that nothing can come from it.” He spun around in his chair, facing away.

 

It was over. It was finally over. Callaghan closed his eyes and relaxed into his chair.

 

“So, sir,” Tadashi spoke. “Is that not a complete rejection then?”

 

Callaghan’s eyes popped back open and he spun around in his chair.

 

“I beg your pardon?” Callaghan asked sharply. He could feel the blush on his face.

 

“You’ve ignored me for so long, so why now?” Tadashi asked. “Why are you confronting me now?”

 

“Tadashi, that’s enough,” Callaghan told him.

 

“Why are you so bothered?” Tadashi asked. “Is my crush really so awful, or are you worried because you have feelings too?”

 

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Callaghan’s voice hitched.

 

“I’m accusing you of liking me!” Tadashi said. “And is that really a bad thing?”

 

“Yes!” Callaghan grunted. “This is completely unprofessional and unethical, you know we can’t-“

 

“You said we this time!” Tadashi pointed out. Callaghan sighed at his slip up. “So I’m guessing this isn’t a one-sided affair, is it? Now that I think about it, if you wanted me gone, I wouldn’t be here by now.”

 

Callaghan hid his hands in his face.

 

“What would it do if I confirmed any of this?” He asked softly. “I told you we can’t do this-“

 

“But do you want to?” Tadashi pushed, looking at him earnestly.

 

“Tadashi…” Callaghan growled.

 

“But do you want me? Do you want me too, Professor Callaghan?” Tadashi shouted.

 

Callaghan jumped out of his seat and covered his mouth with his hand. He was being much too loud.

 

“Yes!” Callaghan whispered to him. “Of course I want you! Who wouldn’t want you? Do you know how frustrating it is to see you look at me the way you do, to hear things you want to do with me?” He groaned. “But we can’t, this could ruin my career, not to mention yours.”

 

Tadashi looked at him with wide eyes.

 

“I thought I could ignore you, but you’ve dragged me into this shared delusion. But we can’t.” Callaghan said, exhaustion creeping into his voice. “If you cared about the rest of your life you would walk out of this door right now. Just walk out now…” Callaghan moved way from Tadashi, and sunk back down in his seat. “I’ve already made things worse by admitting my truth to you.”

 

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” Tadashi said confidently “We like each other, and we are compatible, and you know it. Isn’t this too good to pass up?” Callaghan’s face softened.

 

“Are you truly being serious?” Callaghan asked, fear in his voice. “Surely there must be someone else. Anyone else. Someone younger; more suited for you.”

 

“I would never joke about this,” Tadashi said seriously. He walked over and slid himself in his Professor’s lap, straddling him. “And the only one I want is you.”

 

“Tadashi-“

 

“I’ll leave it up to you,” Tadashi began. “Here I am, I’m right here, just for you. If you want me just as much as I want you, then kiss me. If you don’t, then I will leave, I will withdraw myself from your classes, and find a new school to go to. You won’t ever have to deal with me again.”

 

Tadashi was staring deeply into his eyes, and Callaghan knew he had to make a choice. He knew what the right choice was, he knew that he needed to push him off, and make him leave. He didn’t want him to leave the university, they could work that out later but he needed to end this now. But…

 

But he guessed that he was just weak.

 

Callaghan felt his hands move up Tadashi’s body, one hand resting on his back, the other continuing to crawl until it met with the nape of his neck. Callaghan pulled him forward, and their mouths met in beautiful bliss.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This has taken forever for me to get through. If you've read "This is How We Burn", the last scene will be familiar to you. I really wanted to write my own fic based on that but expanded, and thus I've finally wrote my own edition of how Callaghan and Tadashi got together.
> 
> Shout out to Shinladyanarki on tumblr for helping me write this and betaing it. Thanks!


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